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MANILA, Philippines – House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez on Wednesday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to thoroughly verify and evaluate the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) list that labeled several congressmen in cases. corruption related to infrastructure projects.
“In accordance with the president’s directive, it is now the duty of the Department of Justice to give legislators named on the PACC list the appropriate forum to confront their accusers and defend themselves,” Romualdez said in a statement.
“We are hopeful that the DOJ will thoroughly verify and evaluate the list sent by the PACC to the president. [Rodrigo] Duterte, to verify which of these charges are substantiated and which are mere products of the imaginative minds of rival politicians, “he added.
On Monday, Duterte, citing the PACC list, named nine members of the House allegedly involved in acts of corruption related to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects.
The aforementioned lawmakers have already denied the allegations against them, with some blaming local politics as the reason they were linked to baseless corruption.
In naming the congressmen allegedly involved in anomalies, Duterte did emphasize that there is still no hard evidence against them and that their inclusion on the PACC list does not mean they are guilty.
“We do not want the president’s war on corruption to be diverted by tainted sources that are involved in local partisan politics,” Romualdez said.
“The president is serious about eliminating corruption in the last remaining years of his term. Let us support him and be with him in this crusade ”, he added.
President Lord Allan Velasco, for his part, highlighted the need for accused lawmakers to have the opportunity to respond to allegations of corruption.
“Due process dictates that a thorough investigation be conducted to determine whether probable cause or evidence exists to support the charges against him,” Velasco said in a separate statement.
Citing news reports, Velasco said that “House members named on the PACC list stated that none of the PACC representatives have invited them for questioning.”
“It appears that the PACC has not carried out any investigation into the veracity of the accusations against him for belonging to another branch of government, which is not within the competence of the Commission,” he added.
“In accordance with due process, we believe that the matter should be brought before the Ombudsman’s Office, given the limited jurisdiction of the PACC over officials of the Executive Branch and not the Legislative,” he also said.
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